Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Autumn in Utah

Went golfing with Karl on Sunday. Let's just say we're a lot more evenly matched as runners than we are as golfers. He had about one fewer stroke than me for every minute that I was faster than him at Wasatch. You can do the math yourself to figure out just how bad I am at golf. I guess I'll settle for that trade though :)

Ran a little over 3 hours in the San Rafael Swell on Monday and I feel like my body is pretty much back to normal and ready to give another 100 miler a go. I'm not going into the Bear with any expectations. I just want to have a fun run through the mountains and see how it plays out. If I'm feeling strong I'll push myself a bit as the day progresses, but if I'm not feeling strong I am going to be willing to slow way down until I come around. Patience is the name of the game for hundreds and I expect to have more patience with this one than any that I've ever run.

Spent the past two days camping and relaxing near Moab. The weather has finally cooled off here. For the first two weeks I was in Utah it was in the upper 80's or 90's everyday but the past 3 days have been in the upper 60's to low 70's. If you've ever spent any time in the Utah desert this time of year, after the summer heat has broken, you know how much of a treat it can be. I've been really lazy (by design) the past couple days, but my mind and my body have felt so content being where I'm at. I'm slowly starting to come a little bit around to the idea of heading back to Juneau next week, but right now I'm super content to be in the warm sun by day and out under the stars around a juniper scented campfire at night. If you too could use a little "Southern Utah medicine" check out this running trip that Karl is leading in Moab in a couple weeks. Knowing Karl, and knowing most of the trails around Moab, I wouldn't expect anything other than a really kick ass time.

The Bear 100 starts at 6am Mountain Time on Friday. Here's a link to the race website and the live runner tracker in case anyone's interested in "following along" during the race.

Good luck at Bear. We are so proud of you and we will be following you all the way to the end. Enjoy yourself and remember something you once said "time and distance can be measured, all else is in the mind". We love you.

Another awesome race Geoff! If I see the results correctly, that makes THREE 100 Mile Victories all in course records, in addition to Crow's Pass course record. Everyone that reads your blog is now anticipating the UltraRunner of the Year voting.

congrats Geoff! You are an amazing machine. I am so proud of you. Every time you race, I tell everyone I know. I still have a hard time believing I'm related to such a phenom as you :) Glad you're loving it too!Michelle

OMG!!! Another victory - you are such a machine - we are so very very proud of you - you sure make it interesting following your races - congrats again - you could be rich by now if any of these races had prizes. You've got our vote as "ultra runner of the year". We love you. Mom & Dad

Hey Geoff! A very belated congrats on the stellar run at the Bear! Two weeks is plenty of time to recover. I've been "busy" with projects of my own. Kill it at the next one! Virginia rocks if you go! :-)